The story follows the journey of a young woman from the Midlands named Johanna Morrigan, who tries to save her impoverished family in Wolverhampton by reinventing herself as the fast-talking and lady sex-adventurer Dolly Wilde, moving to London, and getting a job as a music critic in the hopes of doing so. A semi-autobiographical novel written by Caitlin Moran that became an instant best seller.